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This book presents the most complete and up-to-date formulation of Pre-Therapy philosophy, theory and practice. Previously only available in German, this important work has been updated and translated. It has been virtually impossible to get hold of any substantial writing on Pre-Therapy in the UK and this book rectifies the situation. Applications of the method with the most difficult client-groups — those described with severe psychosis and others with profound learning disabilities — are described by all three authors, with detailed accounts from Dion Van Werde and Marlis Pörtner.
Developed by Garry Prouty and his associates over 30 years, Pre-Therapy is a method for anyone wanting to work with people whose ability to establish and maintain psychological contact is impaired temporarily or permanently, by illness or injury, whether of organic or psychological origin. Pre-Therapy has changed the practice of psychologists, psychiatrists, psychotherapists, social workers, counsellors and carers in mainland Europe; now this book introduces its revolutionary ideas to English-speaking readers.
Contents
Part 1 Garry Prouty -- The Foundations of Pre-Therapy
•Formative experiences
•Pre-Therapy and Existential Phenomenology
•The Theory of Pre-Therapy
•The Practice of Pre-Therapy
•Pre-symbolic Theory
•Newer Applications of Pre-Therapy
•Further Thoughts
Part 2 Dion Van Werde -- Pre-Therapy applied on a psychiatric ward
•Introduction
•Mission Statements
•A Contact Milieu
•Afterthoughts
Part 3 Marlis Pörtner -- Further Evolutions of Pre-Therapy in Europe
•The Pre-Therapy Project of Sint-Amandus
•Further Evolutions of Pre-Therapy
•Concluding Thoughts
Van Werde has developed an understanding of working with what he calls the 'grey area' where clients may dip in and out of psychosis. As a counsellor working in the field of mental health, I found this thought provoking and helpful. Pre-Therapy offers me a way of supporting someone at the edge of therapeutic viability and of bringing them back into therapeutic contact, in a way that is fully consistent with person centred therapy. It is deeply respectful of the client and an effective way of making therapy available to those who might otherwise be excluded. Margaret Brown, Counselling Manager and practitioner, East Suffolk Mind, reviewed in HCPJ April 2003.
Garry Prouty, (died 2009) trained by Eugene Gendlin, was the founder of Pre-Therapy. He lectured in Europe and North America in clinics, hospitals and training organisations for the over 17 years. During his career, he was invited to deliver the Frieda Fromm-Reichman Memorial Lecture at the Washington School of Psychiatry. Garry Prouty served as editorial consultant on the boards of Psychotherapy, Theory, Research and Practice; The International Journal of Mental Imagery and Person-Centered and Experiential Psychotherapies (the journal of the World Association for Person-Centered and Experiential Psychotherapy and Counseling). His other books include Theoretical Evolutions in Person-Centered/Experiential Therapy: Applications to schizophrenic and retarded psychoses (Praeger, 1994).
Dion Van Werde is a psychologist with a postgraduate specialisation in Client-Centered/Experiential Psychotherapy (K. U. Leuven). He is Pre-Therapy Staff Fellow of the Chicago Counseling and Psychotherapy Center, USA. He is coordinator of the Pre-Therapy International Network, based at Psychiatrisch Ziekenhuis, St Camillus, Gent, Belgium, where he uses Pre-Therapy as a ward model in residential care for people diagnosed as psychotic. He also gives presentations and workshops on Pre-Therapy in different formats and languages.
Marlis Pörtner, worked in theatre and as an editor and translator, before becoming a psychotherapist. After the 'family years' she studied psychology and has worked for 20 years as a psychotherapist in her own practice. She has always had in her client caseload some people with special needs. She also works as a consultant and supervisor for several social services and is often invited by communities and homes to do workshops for the staff to introduce the concept of 'Trust and Understanding'. She has published a number of books, originally in German, that have been translated into several languages, and numerous articles for professional journals. She was married for more than 20 years, has a daughter and a son, both adult, and two grandsons.